Making jerky from venison

Janet Hackert, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist,
Harrison County, University of Missouri Extension

Deer-hunting season is in full swing. Making jerky is a popular way
to preserve venison. Here are some tips on doing it safely, including
specifications for ground meat.

First, be sure that everything is clean and that cross contamination
does not occur. This means washing hands thoroughly with soap and warm,
running water before and after handling raw meat. It is important
to scrub hands for at least 20 seconds. Make sure knives, cutting boards
and any other utensils are also clean before use, and wash them in hot soapy
water before using them with other foods.

To keep the meat safe, follow temperature recommendations. Refrigerate
the meat and store at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for no more than
3-5 days for whole cuts of meat and only 2 days for ground meat. If
it will take longer than that to process it all, store in the freezer
and remove just what can be worked in a timely fashion. Thaw meat in
the refrigerator to keep any foodborne pathogens from growing. Likewise,
when marinating meat, do so in the refrigerator and do not reuse or
save the marinade.

As with any raw meat, disease-causing microorganisms such as E. coli
may be present with venison, making it crucial to heat the meat to an
internal temperature of 160° F. This can be done before drying by heating
the meat strips in their marinade or after the jerky is dried. For details
on how to do this, go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s
website at http://nchfp.uga.edu/
and click on “Dry” (link in the left sidebar) and then click on the
link for “Jerky”.

If making jerky from ground meat, be especially careful since the
grinding process exposes far more surface area of the meat to contaminants.

To dry the marinated meat strips or extruded ground meat strips,
place on racks so that they are close but do not touch or overlap. Dry
at 140° F in a dehydrator or oven until a test strip cracks but does
not break when bent. If the meat was not heated before drying, the process
should take 10-24 hours. The process will be faster if the meat was
preheated to 160° F.